Those with questions about Jamestown and the ongoing archeological investigations there will find themselves in luck this month.
July 17 is Ask an Archaeologist Day, and the experts at Jamestown Rediscovery are ready to field questions about their jobs and Jamestown.
The Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation has been advertising the day on social media, encouraging people to submit their burning questions to be answered next week.
Archaeologist Mary Anna Hartley said archaeologists answer questions frequently on-site on Jamestown Island, but Ask an Archaeologist Day opens the opportunity up for people to do so virtually.
“This allows us to open the floor to any question anyone has about archaeology,” she said.
Jamestown Rediscovery, part of Preservation Virginia, focuses on research and archaeology that bring stories of the original James Fort to life. It also works to excavate, interpret, preserve, conserve and research artifacts found at the site.
Jamestown Rediscovery will accept questions until July 16, but Hartley said sooner is better because it will allow archaeologists to better prepare. Questions can be submitted informally via Facebook or email.
Hartley said the dozen-or-so questions submitted thus far range from topics such as facial recognition technology, to pottery, to the Angela site and more.
How the questions will be answered is still in the works, but archaeologists are leaning toward answering questions through a video online.
A majority of Jamestown Rediscovery’s dozen archaeologists — which work on the Memorial Church, Angela and Fort sites — will participate in the question-and-answer session.
Hartley said Ask an Archaeologist Day was started in recent years by the Council for British Archaeology, which hosts a “huge” festival that runs through the second half of July.
Ask an Archaeologist Day is a part of their festivities, Hartley said.
Other archaeological sites are also participating in Ask an Archaeologist Day, including some in Italy.
Those who have other questions about curation will have another opportunity to ask this September on Ask a Curator Day.
Jamestown staff will also be participating in that event, Hartley said.
